This article tells the story of MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools. The program's goals are to identify, recognize, and showcase the leadership and successful practices of middle level and high schools that serve large numbers of students living in poverty and that have high levels of student achievement or show evidence of dramatically improving student achievement. Each year, 10 schools are identified. To mark the fifth year of the project, the MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools from 2008, 2009, and 2010 were reexamined to see whether and how student achievement had been sustained. Sustainability of academic improvement is often elusive in schools that have been "turned around." Successful leaders--principals and teachers--often are promoted or retire, and resources can be shifted to schools in greater need. In some cases, communities have changed, standards have been raised, new formulas have been applied to data points, and states have adopted new assessments. The majority of the MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools have experienced one or more of those changes over the last five years, making their continued growth even more impressive. Once again, those schools demonstrated how an uncompromised focus on addressing the things that really matter in schools--such as strong leadership, sufficient time, and clear focus--leads to sustained school improvement and student success. Over the next few months in this column, the principals of the schools will share their personalized accounts to describe how they manage the changes and challenges to continue their schools' trajectories of excellence.